Are Push-Ups Important?

What up?!! Hey, sorry no post last week but …… you know…..I had life happening soooooooo. But, I’m here! So, last post I was anticipating the Jersey Shore reboot. Did you watch it? I wasn’t able to watch it Friday evening because the hubs and I went to our nephews’ spring concert for their school. They were so funny and so adorable.  The youngest, while he was singing his friend covered his mouth! LOL. Kids……am I right?! So, I ended up watching the Jersey Shore on Saturday.

The reboot, or what they are calling a “Family Vacation,” takes place in Miami. I personally feel they should have brought it back to the shore for this first season back but that’s just me, what do I know. So, they are in Miami, sans Sammi. I won’t spoil anything if for some reason you haven’t watched it but what I will say is holy plastic surgery Batman! Hey, I’m all for you doing you but it caught me off guard with how plastic the girls’ faces looked. They were already adorable. If it ain’t broke…….

Anywho…I won’t go off on that tangent. This week we’re talking pushups. What’s up with pushups? Pretty much everyone hates them, but you still see people struggling to get through them at the gym. There are also those who enjoy adding to the torture and add weights, a buddy, take it to an incline or a decline. You know, get fancy with it.

Throughout my fitness journey I have had three goals in my mind that I have been dead set on one day on achieving. I have no set time frame to achieve these goals, but they are ever present in my daily training. Most people that train with weights typically think of setting a PR on bench press, squat and deadlift as goals they would like to meet but for me, my goals are more simplistic. I have always wanted to be able to do sits ups, pushups and pull ups. Your typical calisthenics. #basic

When I was young, in PE I struggled with all three. I couldn’t do a sit up to save my life. Mainly because of my chubby little belly, which turned into a large chubby belly as the years went on. Pull ups, the other kids would at least make it half way to the bar, me, I would just dangle. And pushups….pppssshhhhttt forget it! And, of course, all of these movements were performed in front of the entire class in some sort of fitness evaluation. Being a heavy kid, this did not bode well in my favor. The ridicule that followed left me hating PE. This stuck with me throughout my school years. Why are kids so mean?! Sheesh.

When I set out on my fitness journey after grade school, these three simple movements were my go to in determining my worth in the gym. Was I getting stronger? If I could pull off these movements then I knew I had made it. I was fit. I’ll never forget the day I did a full sit up without flailing all over the place. I could have cried. I was so happy and realized how far I had come. My inner fat kid wanted to run around and say “See! see! I can do sit ups!” Then there are pull ups….my never-ending work in progress. If you have read some of my older blog posts, you’ll read my struggles. I had pretty much given up on pull ups over the past year. In recent months, I decided to try them again for shits and giggles and I made it about ¼ of the way up. My motivation was restored, and I have been trying to incorporate them little by little back into my routine.

Then there are pushups.::sigh:: They have always been a struggle. My core strength and upper body strength just weren’t up to par enough to get the job done. Even performing the movement on my knees was a chore. And trust me, I did not like doing push-ups on my knees. They are often referred to as girl pushups. NOPE! I wanted to do what the boys did and do it better if I could. It’s only in recent years that my push-ups have gotten significantly better and my knees are down no more! I have really taken the time to work on my posture, core and upper body strength and can perform multiple push-ups without fatigue. This is why I love the gym.  It’s a place where hard work always pays off.😊

There are all kinds of work out regimens out there. I see workouts all the time, the “No Sit Up Six Pack,” Routine, the “No Pushup Chest Workout,” and so on. But, aren’t these simplistic movements important?

I wanted to dive deeper into the pushup. It was my enemy for so long. The hatred I had for this exercise was insane. If my training for the day included pushups, I dreaded it, I would cut my reps short but I would begrudgingly suffer through them.  So why did I keep doing them? Because, push-ups are important.

Pushups can be performed anywhere! You do not need any equipment to perform a push up, just your body weight. This makes them a very versatile exercise. When we think of push-ups we think of it as a chest exercise, but push-ups are truly a full body movement. They incorporate not only the chest but the shoulder, core, lower back and quadriceps.

Think about yourself in the push up position, on your toes, body in a straight line from head to toe, shoulders tracking over your wrists. As you lower toward the ground and then push yourself back up your using your shoulders, chest and even triceps/biceps to stabilize your upper body. You engage your core to keep your middle from sagging and assist your upper body with stabilization. Then your quads are activated to keep your knees from hitting the ground. All of this is happening in sync just to lower and raise your body. This simplistic movement takes your shoulder muscles through a full range of motion, stabilizing your shoulder girdle through the entire movement and keeping your core tight to help alleviate the pressure from your lower back. There is a lot going on in one exercise, building strength in the body without any weights. As you progress your push up the strength and mobility you gain from this exercise transcends into other movements such as bench press, shoulder press etc.

Performing push-ups is also a great way, as is any strength training exercise or program, to stimulate your metabolism and increase blood circulation which increases your calorie burn. I’m sure if you’ve ever performed a set of push-ups….heck! sometimes even one push-up, you’ve noticed your heart rate increases and you start to break a sweat.

While your big four movements (squat, deadlift, bench press, and shoulder press) should be a staple in your routine don’t forget about your basic movements such as push-ups. They can really help you progress your training.

Think you suck at push-ups?! Think you just can’t do them? Think again my friend! There are push-ups for everyone! I know, I know…not what you want to read but hear me out. Start small. If getting down to the ground is not in your cards right now start with wall push-ups! Yes, that’s a thing. You can start building up your upper body strength, work on engaging your core and quads.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of those move to an incline push-up on a bench. Then you can take it to the mat and keep your knees on the ground then eventually you can go to a full push-up position. It can be a process but you’ll see the benefits and changes in your body and strength for sure!

There are many variations of push-ups you can utilize in your training. Check out my Push-up Pinterest board to give you more ideas, step-by-step instruction and even push-up challenges!

All right….I’m outta here for now peoples. Let me know If you get some push-ups in this weekend. Better yet, tag me in your pics! @barbellsandboyshorts on the IG.